CodePink: Let’s build a real Good Neighbor policy!
Let’s build a real Good Neighbor policy!
It’s time for a fundamental shift in how the United States engages with Latin America and the Caribbean. For too long, U.S. foreign policy toward the region has been rooted in dominance and interference, rather than mutual respect and cooperation. But there is a better path forward, one based on the simple yet powerful idea of being a good neighbor. By centering our relationships on peace, solidarity, and shared prosperity, we can begin to undo the harm caused by decades of exploitation and chart a new course for the future.
For too long, the United States has treated Latin America and the Caribbean not as sovereign partners but as a zone of influence, a “backyard” to exploit and control. This mindset has shaped two centuries of foreign policy built on sanctions, regime change, and military aggression. What we need today is not a new slogan, but a complete shift in consciousness. One that replaces dominance with cooperation, and fear with solidarity. Real security will never come from coercion or control, but from mutual respect, shared prosperity, and peace across the Americas.
What would it mean for the United States to be a Good Neighbor, it should:
- Not meddle. Meddling in the affairs of other countries can take many forms, whether it’s interfering in domestic policies, interfering in elections, applying sanctions, military interventions or outright war, among others.
- Respect and appreciate differences. Countries in the hemisphere have different cultures, religions, ethnicities, languages, political systems and histories; we must treat others equally under international law, respect our differences and learn from them.
- Work together for the common good. Whether it’s trading fairly, building regional democratic institutions, addressing the climate crisis or helping migrants, only by working together can we resolve the problems we face.
For generations, U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean has produced war, coups, dictatorships, police states, mass migration, environmental destruction, and deep inequality. These are not isolated crises, they are symptoms of a single system built on domination. The connections are clear: trade policies that favor corporations and industrial agribusiness drive displacement and migration; U.S. weapons flow south while drugs flow north; sanctions and extraction devastate communities and ecosystems. This cycle of exploitation enriches a few while inflicting violence and poverty on millions.
The peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean have understood this for centuries. In 1829, Simón Bolívar warned that the United States seemed “destined to plague the Americas with misery in the name of liberty.”
But we know this is not destiny, it is the result of political choices. And those choices can change. It is up to us to demand a new approach. One grounded in respect, cooperation, and justice
I pledge to work to transform the United States into a true Good Neighbor.
Sincerely,
MkM
https://www.codepink.org/share_goodneighbor
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